Are you looking for confirmation that you’re not alone in this journey called motherhood? You’ve found the right place. Here are some motherhood truths that are all universal but maybe don’t feel like they are.
My goal in writing this blog is to be helpful toward other women who happen to be in a similar season of life. This help usually takes the form of tips, tricks, and recommendations for making life easier or better. But, lately, I’ve realized that sometimes the best help I can give is solidarity.
Motherhood is beautiful, yes, but it’s also hard. It’s easy to look at social media or just at the other moms at the bus stop and feel like a failure. It can seem like all the other moms have their lives together and you’re just floundering. You don’t have the ideal life or the ideal children (in terms of their behavior) – what have you done wrong?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. All those moms you see as perfect are struggling just as much as you are. How do I know? Because there are certain motherhood truths that I’m pretty sure are universal. I’m going to share those motherhood truths today. You aren’t alone and you’re doing great!
10 Motherhood Truths
Your kids will not eat what they ask you to buy or make.
Picture this: Your kid asks you to buy strawberry yogurt. You’re excited that he wants to eat something with some nutrition for breakfast instead of sugary cereal. On your next grocery run, you stock up on strawberry yogurt. Your hopes are high. The next morning, you proudly offer your kid the strawberry yogurt he requested. He turns up his nose and vows to only eat peach yogurt. You go into a deep depression.
This works with meals you make too. The more effort required to make the meal equates to a higher chance of your kids refusing to eat the meal they’ve requested. The one exception to this rule is lasagna. Your kids will always eat three helpings of lasagna. Consider this a bonus entry on the list of motherhood truths.
Your kids will not want to wake up on school days, but they will be up bright and early every weekend.
Every single mom I know struggles to get her kids out of bed on school mornings. It’s like pulling teeth. I often have to press down on my son’s mattress and simulate an earthquake to get him up Monday through Friday. When it comes to the weekends, though, the tables turn. You desperately want your kids to sleep in. But, almost without fail, they’re up before 6:00 a.m. Even if the clock has not yet turned green. You can’t win.
Things go wrong when you’re solo parenting.
Things large and small will invariably go wrong when you’re the only grown-up around to deal with them. A kid will need stitches when you’re solo parenting. Another kid will have bad behavior at school when you’re solo parenting. Maybe even on the same solo parenting day that has you headed to the ER for stitches. But you’re strong mom, you can deal with these curveballs. Another bonus item on the list of motherhood truths for you.
Your kids will only ask you for help – even when their dad is sitting right there.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to be loved. But sometimes it’s insanely frustrating to be cooking dinner and risk burning the meal to wipe a butt while dad sits on the couch watching Sports Center. You might want to blame dad here, but it’s not his fault you’re the superior butt-wiper. Fight the urge!
There is a neon sign that goes off when you go to the bathroom
When I was a kid, my mom always said that there was a sign that went off somewhere in the house every time she entered the bathroom because inevitably one of us would need something the minute she took a break. I used to laugh at her, but now that the neon sign has been uninstalled from my childhood home and installed in my current home, I understand exactly her struggle.
Without fail, at least one kid will scream “MOM!” as soon as my butt hits the toilet seat. More often than not, at least one of my kids will barge through the door and act as a live studio audience. I can’t wait for the day when I can uninstall the light from my house and install it in my daughter’s. Or can I?
Bedtime always takes longer than you think it will.
Each stage of life comes with different bedtime issues. Babies need extra rocking. Toddlers need water, potty, one more kiss and one more hug. Elementary and middle school kids refuse to admit that bedtime even exists. And once they get to high school, the problem is that you want to go to bed way earlier than they do.
Regardless of which stage and which bedtime issues you’re fighting, the thing to remember is that it always takes longer than you anticipate. I have a few tips to make things a bit smoother for toddlers and preschoolers, but I don’t really have bullet proof answers. Just expect it to take way more time than you think to get your kids safely in bed.
Mornings are rough, no matter what you do to avoid this result.
The flip side of bedtime taking longer than you expect is that mornings will be rough. Mornings with kids, especially when you’re trying to get them somewhere, are pure chaos. Moms know this, though, so we all try to head off the challenges that intrinsically come with mornings. We set out clothes and pack lunches the night before. We wake our kids up earlier than necessary to give that all important buffer. But no matter what we do to avoid mornings being pure hell, it never seems to be enough. Chaos comes, and with it the tears and the high blood pressure. Pour yourself another cup of coffee, mom.
You say things you never thought you would say every single day.
The things that come out of your mouth as a mom are genuinely insane. This motherhood truth holds true whether you are dealing with boys or girls, but it seems to be especially true with boys.
I’m sure you immediately thought of some of the ridiculous things you’ve said as a mom to illustrate this motherhood truth. But here are some of my gems from just today:
“Please don’t tug on the dog’s nipples.”
“Don’t put your butt on your brother.”
“Why is you biting your toenails?”
Your eyes are the only eyes in your house that work.
Moms are either gifted super-human vision or the members of their family are cursed with terrible vision. Either way, one of the most universal motherhood truths is that only mom’s eyes work. Looking for a condiment in the fridge? No one will find it except mom. Forget your piano book at home for your lesson? Only mom will see it, even if mom gives you explicit directions on where it is. Lose one of your beloved high socks? It will be found by mom on the floor in the middle of your room, somehow invisible to only mom.
Your kids will get sick at the most inopportune time.
Finally, the saddest of the motherhood truths is that your kids will get sick at the worst possible times. Think the night before you are set to give a really important presentation at work. Or maybe as soon as you leave the driveway on your way to your family vacation. It’s never fun to watch your kids be sick and miserable, but it’s extra hard when it’s super disruptive. If you know to expect a sick kid at the worst possible time, hopefully it won’t hit you as hard.
Other posts
If you’re a mom who’s going through it, you might find these posts helpful:
Do you relate to these motherhood truths? What other motherhood truths would you add to this list? Please share down below or over on Instagram @sarainseason!